Kieron Pollard, Shane Bond attract maximum bids

Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond were the biggest buys at the third IPL auction in Mumbai, each fetching the maximum possible bid of $750,000 but the biggest surprise was the fact that not a single Pakistan player was signed up by any of the franchises.

Tuesday's auction was low-key compared to the previous two, the franchises guided more by player availability than star power (the first year's trend) or pure Twenty20 skills, as in 2009. Ten overseas slots were filled, and Mohammed Kaif became the eleventh senior player signed up on the day.

However, there was not a single bid for any Pakistani player, though most of the World Twenty20-winning team was up for auction - including Shahid Afridi, the captain, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Umar Akmal. What made the blackout stranger was that the names had been placed on the auction list by the franchises expressing an interest in the players.

The official explanation was that the players were overlooked for reasons of availability and cricket strategy. "The franchises had the option to pick any player. If you look, they [Pakistan players] were not the only ones not picked," Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said. "There were other players, too, who were not picked in the auction."

Their loss was others' gain, most notably Bond. The New Zealand fast bowler, who recently quit Test cricket to focus on the shorter forms of the game, saw his value rise the most, from a base price of $100,000 to the cap of $750,000 before Kolkata Knight Riders - who entered the bidding at $640,000 - and Deccan Chargers submitted their secret bids. Kolkata won, bidding an undisclosed amount.

"From what we have understood he [Bond] wouldn't be playing Test matches anymore and will play only ODIs and Twenty20 games," Jai Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata, explained after the auction. "Yes, he has been prone to injuries but his coach said he is in pretty good shape. We wanted a fast bowler with experience and he provides us that."

Bond's sale was the auction's second tie-breaker; the first was among four franchises for Pollard, the explosive West Indies allrounder with a base price of $200,000. He was eventually signed up by Mumbai Indians, who beat off Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata. "The team strategy, discussed between Sachin Tendulkar, TA Sekar and Robin Singh was that we wanted a batting allrounder and we are happy to have him," Nita Ambani, who represented Mumbai at the auction, said.

Pollard and Bond's final price was not disclosed and Modi said only he and the successful bidders would be privy to that information.

The two other notable signings were Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, who was bought by Deccan for $720,000, and South Africa's Wayne Parnell, bought by Delhi Daredevils for $610,000. "It is great for the player and he has a big future ahead of him," Modi said of Roach's price. "He is 100% available and that could have been a big factor [in his sale]. They [Deccan] needed a fast bowler and he met their requirement.

Eoin Morgan, the England batsman, was picked up by Bangalore for $220,000. Offspinner Graeme Swann was one of the players in the first auction pool but he did not get any bids at his base price of $250,000. Modi said that player availability was an important factor in the team's strategies.

"Yes, availability is a serious issue with all teams without doubt, based on that the teams have formed strategies," Modi said. "Eoin Morgan was not available 100 % of the time earlier but, before the auction, he was released for the full time by the ECB and hence he was bought."

Mohammad Kaif, the only Indian up for auction, went unsold in the first round of bidding but was later signed up by Punjab for $250,000.

Only three of India's Under-19 players, priced at Rs. 800,000 each, were eligible to play in the IPL and they were chosen by a draft system. Bangalore picked U-19 captain Ashok Menaria, Deccan went for Harmeet Singh and Mumbai opted for Harshal Patel.

IPL shouldn't be recognized by ICC. This is an insult to Pakistani players, haven't them put in the auction and intentionally not bidding them. Indian players don't have the star power which Pakistani players like Afridi and even Akmal and Aamer the newcomers do. Pakistan should boycott by playing India.

POSTED BY
Great.Cricketer
on | January 20, 2010, 1:50 GMT

India and Indian cricket fans never like cricket they just like Indian cricket and their players, no matter how worse they play.You remember how they expose in T20 world cup and champion trophy. Other than money IPL is very low standard of cricket , as you have seen in Champion League how Indian teams lost even they have international players. Its good for Pakistani players to away this low standard cricket ,in fact they are already world champion in T20.

POSTED BY
Derbs
on | January 20, 2010, 1:34 GMT

Being private franchises, the teams can pick whomever is the right fit for their side. Just maybe the Pakistan players didn't fit into these teams' plans??? Not everything has to be political. The best comment would have to be whether Shane Bond will be able to bowl as well as Sohail Tanvir or "Shoib". 1 Shane Bond is worth 20 Sohail Tanvir's, even if Bond is 34 and injury-prone.

POSTED BY
SnowSnake
on | January 20, 2010, 0:49 GMT

I am starting to like IPL. It is perfect capitalism and free markets in play. The best are rewarded. In fact, I see that IPL will have a great impact on test and ODI cricket because players have to build their reputation to win a contract in IPL. As far as Pak. players are concerned, I am not totally surprised. Why should anyone pick Pak. players who recently clinched defeat out of jaws of victory in the 2nd test against Australia. A 3-0 loss to Australia totally ruined marketability of Pak. players. If Pak. players want contracts next year then start bowling like Bond, Roach and hitting like Pollard. If they do, then I would not be surprised if they dominate in IPL 4.

POSTED BY
leggetinoz
on | January 20, 2010, 0:33 GMT

South Australia must be happy. Afridi not getting picked up for the IPL means that come champions league time he will be playing for them and not some IPL team named after beverages and David hasselhoff tv shows. He was a great T20 performer in the big bash. I personally would be happy if the IPL ignored all aussie players as well so they can just focus on the international games.

POSTED BY
drdreddy2008
on | January 20, 2010, 0:32 GMT

I feel that players from Associate Nations like Netherlands and Canada would have been the best deal in the whole IPL auction. Ryan ten doeschate of Netherlands, has an ODI average of 61.00 and first class average of 48. His 2020 record is pretty good, and I am sure any team could have snared him for a great deal. We only need to look to the first IPL season and note how much of a bargain the man of series Rajasthan Royals' Shane Watson was!

POSTED BY
johnnydcp
on | January 20, 2010, 0:20 GMT

Probably political, Mumbai was the centre of previous attacks. As a fan I can see why many Pakistan players would not be picked up by foreign cricket captains, lack of winning mentality, this is after watching them in Australia this year. Shahid Afridi, Tanvir and Umar Gul should of course have been selected but perhaps they didnt fit the bill for the price. Bond is a quality fast bowler, Pollard was the marque player of the Champion League and has had a great Australian domestic tournamet. Kemar Roach blew Ponting away and would easily be picked ahead of Mohammed Ammer. Two Australians were taken at bargain basement prices Voges for $50k and Martyn form$100k both picked by Shane Warne, its a case of who you know to a degree. I am ashamed for India and disappointed for Afridi, Tanvir and Gul them not being in this competition is a corruption of pure sport and therefore the IPlL and us the consumers are also losers.

POSTED BY
paramthegreat
on | January 20, 2010, 0:13 GMT

@adiweb & jacksparrows: if test performance is the basis for selecting T20 teams, then how come Roach and Pollard got such big bids?? Pollard hasnt performed in a single test while even Roach strung together only a couple of decent spells and even WI lost 2-0 to Aus??

POSTED BY
ahmed9199
on | January 20, 2010, 0:04 GMT

atleast pakistan players learned something from it i hope now they will play for pakistan and not for money they always play for money and IPL was another case of money making scheme anyways its good for us and for our country soo pakistanis players should stop runing after money..

POSTED BY
huss26
on | January 19, 2010, 23:36 GMT

PAK players not in the IPL!? Wat a joke! BCCI plays its part again! Dont tell me that this was a commercial decision as many franchises had money left over and could have purchesed a pak player for cheap and if the Indian Government denied them entry into India again, then they wouldn't have to pay the player!!!!!! Surely one can "gamble" a mere amount for a potential tournament winner......least we forget Sohail Tanvir! JUST POLITICS and a move to isolate PAK cricket!

POSTED BY
iffi420
on | January 20, 2010, 2:19 GMT

IPL shouldn't be recognized by ICC. This is an insult to Pakistani players, haven't them put in the auction and intentionally not bidding them. Indian players don't have the star power which Pakistani players like Afridi and even Akmal and Aamer the newcomers do. Pakistan should boycott by playing India.

POSTED BY
Great.Cricketer
on | January 20, 2010, 1:50 GMT

India and Indian cricket fans never like cricket they just like Indian cricket and their players, no matter how worse they play.You remember how they expose in T20 world cup and champion trophy. Other than money IPL is very low standard of cricket , as you have seen in Champion League how Indian teams lost even they have international players. Its good for Pakistani players to away this low standard cricket ,in fact they are already world champion in T20.

POSTED BY
Derbs
on | January 20, 2010, 1:34 GMT

Being private franchises, the teams can pick whomever is the right fit for their side. Just maybe the Pakistan players didn't fit into these teams' plans??? Not everything has to be political. The best comment would have to be whether Shane Bond will be able to bowl as well as Sohail Tanvir or "Shoib". 1 Shane Bond is worth 20 Sohail Tanvir's, even if Bond is 34 and injury-prone.

POSTED BY
SnowSnake
on | January 20, 2010, 0:49 GMT

I am starting to like IPL. It is perfect capitalism and free markets in play. The best are rewarded. In fact, I see that IPL will have a great impact on test and ODI cricket because players have to build their reputation to win a contract in IPL. As far as Pak. players are concerned, I am not totally surprised. Why should anyone pick Pak. players who recently clinched defeat out of jaws of victory in the 2nd test against Australia. A 3-0 loss to Australia totally ruined marketability of Pak. players. If Pak. players want contracts next year then start bowling like Bond, Roach and hitting like Pollard. If they do, then I would not be surprised if they dominate in IPL 4.

POSTED BY
leggetinoz
on | January 20, 2010, 0:33 GMT

South Australia must be happy. Afridi not getting picked up for the IPL means that come champions league time he will be playing for them and not some IPL team named after beverages and David hasselhoff tv shows. He was a great T20 performer in the big bash. I personally would be happy if the IPL ignored all aussie players as well so they can just focus on the international games.

POSTED BY
drdreddy2008
on | January 20, 2010, 0:32 GMT

I feel that players from Associate Nations like Netherlands and Canada would have been the best deal in the whole IPL auction. Ryan ten doeschate of Netherlands, has an ODI average of 61.00 and first class average of 48. His 2020 record is pretty good, and I am sure any team could have snared him for a great deal. We only need to look to the first IPL season and note how much of a bargain the man of series Rajasthan Royals' Shane Watson was!

POSTED BY
johnnydcp
on | January 20, 2010, 0:20 GMT

Probably political, Mumbai was the centre of previous attacks. As a fan I can see why many Pakistan players would not be picked up by foreign cricket captains, lack of winning mentality, this is after watching them in Australia this year. Shahid Afridi, Tanvir and Umar Gul should of course have been selected but perhaps they didnt fit the bill for the price. Bond is a quality fast bowler, Pollard was the marque player of the Champion League and has had a great Australian domestic tournamet. Kemar Roach blew Ponting away and would easily be picked ahead of Mohammed Ammer. Two Australians were taken at bargain basement prices Voges for $50k and Martyn form$100k both picked by Shane Warne, its a case of who you know to a degree. I am ashamed for India and disappointed for Afridi, Tanvir and Gul them not being in this competition is a corruption of pure sport and therefore the IPlL and us the consumers are also losers.

POSTED BY
paramthegreat
on | January 20, 2010, 0:13 GMT

@adiweb & jacksparrows: if test performance is the basis for selecting T20 teams, then how come Roach and Pollard got such big bids?? Pollard hasnt performed in a single test while even Roach strung together only a couple of decent spells and even WI lost 2-0 to Aus??

POSTED BY
ahmed9199
on | January 20, 2010, 0:04 GMT

atleast pakistan players learned something from it i hope now they will play for pakistan and not for money they always play for money and IPL was another case of money making scheme anyways its good for us and for our country soo pakistanis players should stop runing after money..

POSTED BY
huss26
on | January 19, 2010, 23:36 GMT

PAK players not in the IPL!? Wat a joke! BCCI plays its part again! Dont tell me that this was a commercial decision as many franchises had money left over and could have purchesed a pak player for cheap and if the Indian Government denied them entry into India again, then they wouldn't have to pay the player!!!!!! Surely one can "gamble" a mere amount for a potential tournament winner......least we forget Sohail Tanvir! JUST POLITICS and a move to isolate PAK cricket!

POSTED BY
MinusZero
on | January 19, 2010, 22:54 GMT

They were mad not picking Umar Akmal, he would be my first choice.

POSTED BY
manizee
on | January 19, 2010, 22:33 GMT

This is good. I was hoping for something like this to happen. I think Pakistan won the last T20WC because of their non participation in the previous IPL. This will give them a perfect window to prepare for T20WC '10. IPL is all glitz and glamor and all that glitters ain't Gold. The quality of cricket is B perhaps even C grade and last year's Champions League is evidence to it.

The motivation will be more because of this snub and besides there is no denying that Pak team and players are the best exponents of 20/20. The records, stats and performance is all there to prove it. And when they win the World Cup they can take a stand and boycott next year's IPL before any talks of a comeback or such things emerge. This will give them the upper hand and an exclusivity which will say 'We are the best and you're not worthy of having us in your C grade tournament'.

POSTED BY
dania
on | January 19, 2010, 22:07 GMT

PCB should also try to use politics and team up with ECB to create a separate league in England and I am 100% sure that a league in England will be much more successful than in India. West Indies will also part with such a new league.

POSTED BY
rocky
on | January 19, 2010, 22:01 GMT

why all the hue 'n cry over not picking the pakistani players...when one is not sure of them being available..just take a look at how the auctions went.....teams could only spend max $750,000.
mumbai ---- maxed out with pollard
kolkata ---- exhausted after bond
deccan-----$720,000 on roach...
.....
if they were already short of cash....y would anyone in their right mind spend money on somthing that might not even happen.

it would be like indian players being picked for counties in england during IPL.

and when it comes to professionalism paki board is worst than the indian board.....so their assurances count for zit,nada,nothin.

POSTED BY
TwitterJitter
on | January 19, 2010, 21:58 GMT

As much as a supporter I am of the concept of IPL and Indian team, I am disappointed that Pakistani cricketers are not taking part in IPL3. It is unfortunate because Pakistani players made a sincere effort to participate in it and more than Afridi whose attitude I do not like, I would have liked to seen the likes of Umar Gul, Akmal, and Aamer simply because it would have given the youngsters something to look forward to and have fun. I think the franchises were more worried about the additional burdens and risks that come with Pakistani players like having their visa revoked if and when an attack happens or some other incident that would throw a monkey wrench to their plans and so they went with safe bets. I still think that IPL should increase the quota of each team by one player have Pakistani and Bangladeshi representation simply because it is good for subcontinental players and fans to enjoy themselves at the event.

POSTED BY
mnk1001
on | January 19, 2010, 21:31 GMT

The anger of not taking wouldn't make any difference now. IPL is more of business for the owners and for that they need to spend money. Everyone knows what happened to Sharukh Khan who invested a lot for Pakistani players, the return was less. Even I won't risk my money if I invest somewhere. Also business doesn't make any difference between countries. The difference is created by the factor "what would be the returns (read $)". There is a high risk if franchises invest on Pakistan. I totally agree to their decision and moreover as everyone says that IPL is a private league.
One last thing. The true thing is that the Pakistani player are annoyed because they can't earn from the Capitalistic BCCI unlike other international players and that they don't have chances either in their country.

POSTED BY
kalyanghosh
on | January 19, 2010, 21:29 GMT

This is the worst insult you can give to a team.It was definitely a political decision and smacked of meanness.How would Indian team taken it if same treatment was given to Indian players by some other country? Their reactions would have been same.There would have been a security issue on the Pakistani players.But this was not an insurmountable problem.
Some of the comments made by fellow Indians show how much immature and meanness we can be. Please remember God has a funny way of paying back.I never expected such meanness.

POSTED BY
Cric_Ka_Pundit
on | January 19, 2010, 21:23 GMT

All those upset at PakisTan Players exclusion in IPL III , Please rewind to IPL I - Pakistan Players were bought handsomely- , Move forward to IPL II, It was the Pakistan Govt who refused permission to Pakistan Players from playing In IPL II, Pakistan and Aussie Players ditched the franchisees BIG TIME , Many of the Franchisee had loss of Face including our SRK, So this refusal to BUY Pakis or Aussies is a Collective Statement from the Frachisees - PERIOD !

POSTED BY
786alizain
on | January 19, 2010, 21:14 GMT

IPL stands for Indian Premier League not pakistani premier league who the franchises select is there decision no need for pakistani players to get upset over this. There first priority should be to play for there country instead of playing In IPL and prove that they are worth buying.The way they are playing in austarlia i wont spend a dime on them.

POSTED BY
taishan1
on | January 19, 2010, 20:53 GMT

Strange! very Strange that current champions(Pakistan)of T20 format are not picked up..narrow minded thinking...it will lengthen the distance between Pakistani and Indian cricket and people....come on..Spread Love NOT hatred!!!!!!

POSTED BY
taishan1
on | January 19, 2010, 20:52 GMT

Strange! very Strange that current champions(Pakistan)of T20 format are not picked up..narrow minded thinking...it will lengthen the distance between Pakistani and Indian cricket and people....come on..Spread Love NOT hatred!!!!!!

POSTED BY
rko_rules
on | January 19, 2010, 20:39 GMT

Hi, dis is Amit from chandigarh,India. Pakistanis are world champions in T20 and totally ignoring them in the auction just shows the stupidity of the teams owners. Quite clearly if the world champions will not be playing in a T20 tournament like IPL, it is going to take away a lot of glamour, passion and audience watching,from the tournament. Not to mention, it'll definitely affect the goodwill of this too on the international level. There are only IPL, and the Indian audience who are on loss out of it,who wont be able to watch Shahid Afridis or Mohd. Aamers.

POSTED BY
KamranZahid
on | January 19, 2010, 20:37 GMT

So the four franchises who were in a tie-breaker for Kieron Pollard are trying to convince the Cricket world that they are willing to invest heavily in a relatively lesser known and unproven hitter like Pollard but not at all interested in a proven Twenty20 specialist like Shahid Afridi???

POSTED BY
wakeel
on | January 19, 2010, 20:32 GMT

its a request to all the pakistani fans to boycott the IPL by ALL MEANS! not even watching a single ball! we have proven performers and we do not need an event like IPL to prove our worth really..lets show them wat we are in the world cup!!

POSTED BY
ahwasti
on | January 19, 2010, 20:32 GMT

Well guyz i think it reallyy doesn't effect Pakistan in a bad way at all because that is the reason Pakistan won the last T20 worldcup because alot of teams didn't know how to play Best pakistan T20 players and inshallha Pakistan willlll win next T20 World cup as well because of that reason soo it isn't bad for Pak at all its the lost of Indian and rest of the World lol.....

POSTED BY
durai86
on | January 19, 2010, 20:31 GMT

There are no questions about the abilities of Pakistan players as we watch their performances in KFC Bigbash.beautiful hatrick of Rana naved or Boom booms hits and wickets... and i am sure all the IPL franchises would have watched it. And all in all they would have desperately wanted to pick pakistan players especially failed teams like KKR and Rajastan royals (remember KAMRAn and TANVIR in IPL 1) which made huge profits in IPL 1 because of the two pak players .My guess is that some political pressure would have definitely stymied them from getting Pak players at the last moment or else who would have missed Imran nazir,Afiridi,Razaq,kamran latest sensation Umar akmal, definitely if i have a team i would have taken them.I dont believe in the arguement of insulting pak players as definitely all the franchises respect these players and their contributions in IPL 1 and they wanted to continue the good show more over it also involves business and no room for sentiments in business.

POSTED BY
KamranZahid
on | January 19, 2010, 20:23 GMT

Babajee, the US doesn't call the baseball winner "world champions".. they call them "world series champions"..

POSTED BY
javedk
on | January 19, 2010, 20:16 GMT

Being a die-hard Pak cricket fan I am actually happy that the IPL ingored the Pakistan players. What better motivation and incentive can one ask for than this personal insult for the Pakistan players to kick their game up and perform so well in tournaments and other matches that the IPL becomes meaningless and a mute point without them participating. They can then tell the IPL to go to hell.

POSTED BY
bilalifyful
on | January 19, 2010, 20:11 GMT

The best answer Pakistan can come up with would be to book themselves a place in the upcoming T20 WC. No matter what people say or believe, winning the T20 WC goes beyond a team winning IPL x no. of times.

Its best Pakistani players permanently distance themselves from IPL, as IPL is a money making venture, cricket is just a means to all the money.

And i believe a true sportsmen should value passion and pride over money. Pakistani players should respond (and answer every other person who doubts their talent) in the upcoming T20 WC.

And for God's sake people, stop using Pakistan's Test performances to gauge their t20 abilities.

Since no one mentioned it, in T20s Pakistan has a win loss ratio of 4.20 (played 27, won 21, lost 5), Australia W/L ratio of 0.91 (Played 24, won 11, lost 12), India W/L = 1.25 (Played 20, won 10, lost 8), SA W/L = 1.88 (Played 26, won 17, lost 9).

There is no reason for the Pakistani players to fume at not being picked. They are not angry because they were not picked for the tournament. Obviously, money plays a very big part. Yes, there are some really exciting players in the Pakistan side like Umar Akmal and Mond. Aamer. But are the owners, who obviously are Indian origin, willing to put their money on them. They chose the easy way out. When none of the 8 teams were not willing to take chances no one can push them. The Pakistanis would be fuming all the more because they claim to be world beaters (LUCKY) and yet no one figures in the most lucrative tournament. Yes, even in Pakistan no one would want to see them. It is such a country where no one wants to visit. So why these so called world beaters get angry or annoyed.
Hariharan

POSTED BY
varun016
on | January 19, 2010, 19:57 GMT

I dont understand people making such a fuss about nor picking Pak Players. Haven`t people seen the Aus series. Pak players may be good for a while, but they are not consistant at all. Modern aspects of the game like good fielding and fitness is lacking. The absence of Pak players can by no means be compared to Aus in WC. When(ever) Pakistan Cricket Leagues auction happen would be a big fantasy for my friend as no country is willing to play in Pak.
Pak players should improvre on the aspects on the game and then try to win a spot. Its a fair auction, why crib if no one wants you in the team. Its just like the story of "Fox and the sour grapes"

POSTED BY
w_e_s_s
on | January 19, 2010, 19:54 GMT

Politics creeping into cricket - a bad sign for the game itself. I guess they shouldn't have included Pakistani players if they were not going to let anyone buy them. Lame excuses all around as if people don't know the facts. Its really shameful how IPL authorities are putting the discrimination into cricket and what's more shameful is that they are not brave enough to state the real reason behind exclusion of Pakistani players.... I cannot believe Modi's statement that franchises had the option to pick players... If Royals can pay Sohail Tanvir last season knowing that he would not be available, how is it possible that they are not willing to buy the Purple capped player of IPL-1 again? How wouldn't someone want to buy world's best hitter? (Afridi), how can someone ignore world's best T20 bowler? (Umar Gul). How can someone ignore a reliable player like Umar Akmal? Kolkata could never let go of Razzaq whom they contacted after his stint with ICL last year - STOP the nonsense Mr. Modi!

POSTED BY
chochotain
on | January 19, 2010, 19:47 GMT

Obviously it is an Indian league not ICC event so they can do whatever they like but for those who think it is based on Pakistani team/players performance here are some of the stats from Cricinfo on consistency of a team and players in T20 format:

whoever is saying IPL is a domestic event so its their choice is wrong. Look IPL became what it is because of international exposure, international players, international support (ICC). So to just ignore Pakistani after you tell them they can be part of IPL is just ridiculous. It is sports people, we want to see pakistani players in IPL. They are the T20 champs!. An idiot even suggested here something about them first fixing their test side. What moron! This is a T20 not test bud!

POSTED BY
anuAddict
on | January 19, 2010, 19:32 GMT

I am an Indian fan but disappointed that no Pakistan players will form part of IPL. I cannot forget the sense of welcome and brotherhood that seemed to be brooding in Lahore in 2004 resumption series. I am not prepared to believe that at people to people level there is an issue between the two countries (have made many Pakistani friends in various countries I have stayed in who echo the sentiments) and it is true that IPL will be poorer with some charismatic Pakistani players missing. To my Pakistani friends who read this, I want to tell you that there is perhaps a silent majority who feel your hurt and feel as deprived for missing them. I think IPL is taking international proportions although still in infancy and from that perspective this year it will not move forward in popularity stakes... Hope its better next time

POSTED BY
saifkl
on | January 19, 2010, 19:32 GMT

This is a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. IPL never wanted any Pakistani players to begin with. They only got the Pakistani players in the first edition to destroy ICL. Now that they have achieved that their true intentions are clear Pakistan needs to figure out what they will do. The good thing is that it will allow players to focus more on Pakistan cricket and they will not get cozy with the lucrative IPL contracts.

In the long run this is an excellent opportunity for PCB to form an Asian Cricket League. 3-4 teams from Pakistan, 1 from Dubai, 1 from Abu Dhabi, 1-2 from Sri Lanka and 1-2 from Bangladesh. This will create enough overseas venues and it should be played at the same time as IPL as most teams will be available. Overseas players can join the UAE,Sri Lanka and Bagladesh teams and in time they can also come to Pakistan. Zvenues outside of Pakistan will also allow matches b/w teams of different countries.

POSTED BY
cooldude0503
on | January 19, 2010, 19:03 GMT

I guess most Indians wanted Pakistani players in IPL. But Imagine, if any political party would have said they dont want any Pak players then what would have happend. They would get votes and IPL owners would lose money. . I dont know by other parts of India but in Mumbai, there is still lot of anti-pakistan feeling after 26/11. Sports never wants to mix with politics but guess what Politics always can swallow sports if it wants. So all the Pak players, plz dont think you're ignored for some other reason. It's just Financial decision and time is not correct to create further trouble by bringing Pak players in India.

POSTED BY
BharatKaSher
on | January 19, 2010, 19:03 GMT

It's not good for cricket that Pakistani players were ignored. I am an Indian but I would have loved to watch Pakistani players play in IPL. It would have been nice to see young players like Aamer, Umar Akmal etc play in the league. I think the franchises have messed it big time. No one really know what politics is going on behind the scenes ! I feel bad for Pakistani players.

POSTED BY
as27
on | January 19, 2010, 19:02 GMT

Pakistan Team should boycott the Tournaments like IPL, afterall it's a question of self-respect and honour. Pakistani players should concentrate on Playing for their own country. That's all!

POSTED BY
Aston_Villa
on | January 19, 2010, 19:01 GMT

Not good for cricket lovers around the world, however the franchisees are are more interested in what the indian public want in India.

POSTED BY
Rajesh.
on | January 19, 2010, 18:56 GMT

Well...... it wasn't a surprise considering that no one ever knows what future holds for a Pakistan player, including themselves.

Personally, I would have liked to see some of them but it wasn't a surprise that they weren't bought by any of the franchisees.

POSTED BY
Mahesh_Nathan
on | January 19, 2010, 18:56 GMT

The exclusion most likely had to do with the political situation, but not in the way most people think . The IPL franchise owners probably liked the Pakistan players and would have liked to pick them based on skill as it help make the teams stronger. The main problem is that if the political situation changes (which it has frequently in the recent past), then the Pakistan players most likely would not be be able to play. That's a big risk to the big investment and probably caused the owners to have to leave out the Pak players.
It wasn't political - just a business desicion.

POSTED BY
riz103
on | January 19, 2010, 18:54 GMT

I don't think having a Pakistan based team in IPL would work, as someone in one of the comments suggested. This is because they'll win the IPL and that would kill the purpose of not selecting Pak players in the first place: sucking up to the people of India who think Dhoni is the best T20 player being the most expensive at IPL auctions. What would happen to all those hilariously senseless commercials that Indians telecast before a major tournament? I gota say the organizers here act like the idiots who get a lot of money out of no where and then can't figure out how to spend it and end up making a fool of themselves.

POSTED BY
Humas14
on | January 19, 2010, 18:49 GMT

They say that they have picked players on avalability.Then why did they pick up Shane Bond who is gonna leave halfway through.It was obvious for K.Pollard but was surprising that no pakistani ,Not even Shahid,was picked.wayne

POSTED BY
adiweb86
on | January 19, 2010, 18:48 GMT

I can't believe the Pakistani cricketers' temerity to express their "anger" at not being picked up by IPL franchises. Considering the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Australians in the past few weeks (and over the years), the Pakistani players do not merit places in Bangladesh's domestic league, leave alone the No.1 test playing nation's league.

POSTED BY
adiweb86
on | January 19, 2010, 18:44 GMT

Pakistani players are pretty ordinary actually for the IPL franchises to waste their money on. They hardly perform for their country, leave alone performing well for private Indian franchises. Pathetic fielding, no team spirit, once in a blue moon players. It's good that at least one unprofessional lot won't be playing in the world's favourite cricket fest!

POSTED BY
halwapuri
on | January 19, 2010, 18:39 GMT

It's a clear-cut conspiracy against Pakistan. They do not want them to play in the IPL and found out a way to keep these players out of the League. Now if the Pakistan Cricket Board is any smart (which I doubt they are), they should immediately come out and tell Lalit Modi, fine our players are not playing the IPL, put our domestic T20 champions in your "Champions League" tournament. His response would clearly tell you whether this was a clear-cut conspiracy or not. And i'm damn sure, Lalit Modi will try to come out with another way to keep our team out of the Champions League

POSTED BY
zoom555
on | January 19, 2010, 18:36 GMT

Well it just goes to show the very predicable nature of BCCI against Pak cricket. I was going to subscribe to the channel here in UK to watch IPL but not anymore and I bet there will be millions more who will feel this way.

Some of the best players have been ignored and some of you here are trying to say that it does not matter, of course it matters as it showed in the IPL 2nd edition which was a failure.

People should boycott this discriminatory league, I know atleast over a 100 people who are not going to follow the IPL.

POSTED BY
ssraza
on | January 19, 2010, 18:33 GMT

i see there are most of the indians, justifying the decision for not picking pakistanis. if u really dont care about the issue so why u r clarifying, dudes. it won t work. i feel sorry for indian players who r not able to perform in any world class T20 matches since 2007. please learn some T20 cricket from this IPL instead of focussing on multiplying their bank balanaces.

POSTED BY
Blythesville
on | January 19, 2010, 18:31 GMT

This clearly indicates that politics are never far away from sports. Pakistan still has a long way to go to demonstrate to the cricketing world that they are dealing with some challenging matters. Authorities will continue to invite Pakistan to the dance, but they will stay seated for the evening.

POSTED BY
cruisecontrol
on | January 19, 2010, 18:27 GMT

I'm very disappointed. Yes, I accept that the govt. of India not giving assurances and the general political climate not being conducive might have had an impact. Yes, I understand that the franchises are businesses and have every right to look at their economics. But I do not accept it that they only have to look at it purely in tactical terms or purely in economic terms. There are tens of millions of Indians like me who will miss the Pakistani players. There are tens of millions of fans in the subcontinent that will miss them. The franchises have lost an opportunity to enhance their long-term brand equity and goodwill. They and IPL have lost my trust. As for Mr. Modi, the less said the better. Not that Cricinfo will publish anyway. [People here do KNOW that a lot of critical posts are not posted, Cricinfo!].

POSTED BY
Babajee
on | January 19, 2010, 18:26 GMT

IPL is a private league and who they select is their decision. This is just like the US calls the winner of baseball series "world champions" even though all the temas that participate in the league are American (except one Canadian).

POSTED BY
cricomaniac
on | January 19, 2010, 18:26 GMT

Here is what can happen if IPL chooses pak players.. Let's say KKR chooses forum favorite Shahid Afridi, and even make a contract "if can't play for whatever reason, no guaranteed money". Now here the problem is not money, problem is who will replace Afridi in the foreign player slot? Should the IPL franchisee settle down with less talented last minute replacement player or be more smart about it and draft a player who will be available without any restrictions? To some smart people's comments about "Why pak players name in the draft if they were not be picked" - answer is: IPL played by the rule to include them in draft, it's up to franchisee to make a call on this. All Pak people should be happy that they were not given chance so now they can concentrate on Test cricket. And, yes, Pak people should be the last one to talk about politics and sports, not sparing aussies also, they should be the last people to talk about discrimination!

POSTED BY
helloajs
on | January 19, 2010, 18:17 GMT

YES !!! agree that Pak players are good at cricket. but they surrounded by bunch a politicians.Pakistani players needs to come down and put them selves in the position of franchise owner. if i am owner i want players who are 100% available. IF during ipl season something happen, pakistani players are the first one to fly out. so what basis they are saying that they are insulted. They need to grow up and admite that PCB needs to keep cricket and politics different.

POSTED BY
Rehan497
on | January 19, 2010, 18:12 GMT

Also lol people who say afridi wasn't good in the last ipl, im pretty sure he's matured a lot since that, after we saw his performance's in the 20/20 world cup last year. Some people are also questioning, saying "who are we to decide who organisers spend their money on?" yeah that's right but im pretty sure the one way ipl is successful is by us watching them and i can assure you many pakistani fans all across the world won't tune into the ipl, including me, i was looking to buy the package channel for ipl, im afrad to say not anymore. So IPL are definately losing out by not picking the best 20/20 players in the world.

There's someone criticising Umar Akmal's performances in Australia, my answer to him is how many 19 year old's go to australia and play test cricket and then there make scores of 49, 49 51? There are some bad scores but i'd like someone like virat kohli, or any other player of his age or some just above his age going to australia and coming out with better scores.

POSTED BY
HajiFourTwenty
on | January 19, 2010, 18:02 GMT

i wonder how lalit or indains will stop afridi from playing in the champions league as his team south australia have already qualified for champions league?

POSTED BY
Afta
on | January 19, 2010, 18:02 GMT

India has become the cricketing powerhouse monetarily. Who says that politics and sports don't mix? Strange bedfellows, aren't they? Welcome to the world of Corporate cricket. It sucks...

POSTED BY
reyan22
on | January 19, 2010, 17:54 GMT

Not selected by any franchise is a blessing in disguise for Pakistan team cuz last time they did not play IPL so they had a lot more time to improve their game and because of that they won the T20 World Cup and the next T20 cup is just round the corner and to win it you have to play as a team which u can not achieve by playing in IPL. IPL provides great entertainment to people but Indian Team lost because of it cuz they could not play as a team in last T20 cup with all the superstars around.

POSTED BY
smoothoperator5534
on | January 19, 2010, 17:53 GMT

IPL is only losing its fan base this way, and those days are not far off when IPL's fate will be like champions league.. That is, Lalit Modi distributing free passes to ensure a decent crowd attendance in stadiums. And as for Pakistani players, their cricket IS NOT STOPPING without IPL.. Afridi has been man of the match TWICE in
KFC big bash in Australia. After big bash, he heads to South Africa to play for Nashua Dolphins and then later for English county Hampshire. Rana Naveed too, has proven to be lethal both with bat and ball in big bash. The fact that he's scored quick runs and even achieved a hat-trick speaks volumes of how talented he is. These performances by Pakistanis that IPL is not the only platform Pakistanis need to showcase their potential

POSTED BY
bobby3054
on | January 19, 2010, 17:51 GMT

am from hyderabad..and in the first season,,i ws one of those many happy people who were happy for afridi being in the deccan chargers...as we all know,,the kind of inconsistency that he has with his bat..he might help us atleast with the ball...and he was given pretty good number of chances in the first season..and we all know the kind of performance he delivered...nd just look at the second season,.,thnx to gilchrist, rohit sharma,,andrew symonds, gibbs,rp singh...and even tnx to venugopal rao,,we won the tournament itself....had afridi been in that...we would have had to drop an international player to fit afridi in...nd even the dumbest person on earth can realize that afridi wsnt even needed anywhere...nd talking about team play...you guyz cannot even cooperate with your own captain who took you all to the semi finals of the champions trophy...that captain got pissed of his own players and left playing....just understand the plight in which you guyz are talking...

POSTED BY
Rehan497
on | January 19, 2010, 17:50 GMT

This is really bad from india, they are the only hurting themselves, what lalit modi and the rest have said is about availability etc, that's just a lame excuse. In my opinion all pakistani players should never again apply for the ipl, infact even if their begged they should stay away because we all know the indian crowd loves watching the likes of Afridi, Tanvir, Aamer ( i mean how often do we see a 17 yr old bowl at 145kmh with swing and accuracy).

Pakistan must humilate india by beating them in the 20/20 world cup and successfully defending it. India playing politics is shameful.

POSTED BY
islamabadi
on | January 19, 2010, 17:48 GMT

This is the IPL's loss. Sure the Pakistani players could have made some money but I think in the long run it might help them even more if they end being signed up by Australian and English leagues. This snub will not be easily forgotten by the fans in Pakistan nor in India. I hope this will wake up the Pakistani management to work on their own domestic T20 league which was successful in its first edition and brought the crowds to the stadiums.
Kemar Roach, Pollard, Bond can be compared to Afridi? Give me a break.

POSTED BY
ejsiddiqui
on | January 19, 2010, 17:46 GMT

Mr. Modi: "there are other players from other countries who have not been picked" (apart from Pakistani Players)
How many of them were champions? Who has the best batting, bowling, allround and winning record?
Obviously it is not the performance due to which which Pakistani players have not been selected.
There were stories [before the auction] which tells that IPL has advised franchises to not to go for Pakistan players which seems 100% true.
Mr. Modi! you should have courage to tell truth.

POSTED BY
unknown.
on | January 19, 2010, 17:45 GMT

it is all about politics pak hockey team is in india then why not cricket.

POSTED BY
azeemkhan124
on | January 19, 2010, 17:41 GMT

will there be an entertainment if Australia will be dropped from World Cup? that is the same thing with the absence of Pakistani players in IPL T20.

POSTED BY
smoothoperator5534
on | January 19, 2010, 17:40 GMT

On the one hand they make Amitabh Bachan talk about Indo/Pak unity, and on the other hand Indians simply ignore Pakistani talent in IPL.. Hypocrisy of the highest order! IPL is only losing its fan base this way, and those days are not far off when IPL's fate will be like champions league.. That is, Lalit Modi distributing free passes to ensure a decent crowd attendance in stadiums. And as for Pakistani players, their cricket IS NOT STOPPING without IPL.. Afridi has been man of the match TWICE in KFC big bash in Australia. After big bash, he heads to South Africa to play for Nashua Dolphins and then later for English county Hampshire. Rana Naveed too, has proven to be lethal both with bat and ball in big bash. The fact that he's scored quick runs and even achieved a hat-trick speaks volumes of how talented he is. These performances by Pakistanis that IPL is not the only platform Pakistanis need to showcase their potential

POSTED BY
unknown.
on | January 19, 2010, 17:40 GMT

the franchise are dying to get the pak player but mr modi told them not to waste ur money bcoz the indian government wont provide them visa& they are smart enough to not to waste their money

POSTED BY
univrsl
on | January 19, 2010, 17:40 GMT

interestingly d people sayin they will ignore IPL are more in numbers commenting about IPL!!!! that proves how much importance they are giving to IPL...........cheers to IPL,good goin Lalit modi n co. nd some guys are talking as if without pak players IPL is nothing..c'mon yar,IPL will remain IPL no matter whu plays nd whu doesnt..someone said k in IPL4 only locals will play..no problems dear..we indians love our cricketers and cricket..if only local plays den also it'l be a huge success..you shud hav seen the Ranji final and the crowd there..so dont wory about IPL and indian fans..we can take care of ourselves..

POSTED BY
NishanthRK
on | January 19, 2010, 17:39 GMT

I dont think there isnt any hidden agenda behind neglecting the Pakistan cricketers....
And i also doesnt understand why afridi is saying he is upset with what has happened today when he itslef has stated that its a blessing in disguise no getting to play in IPL...

If anyone one want to refer here is the link http://cricketnext.in.com/news/ipl-omission-is-a-blessing-for-us-afridi/45667-13.html

POSTED BY
zainzain
on | January 19, 2010, 17:38 GMT

My question is if they did not want to pick any pakistani player then why they allowed them to participate in biding, in this way they disgrace them. i can understand indian
govt dont want to show their people everything is normal with pakistan. but after this
humilation, pakistani players and pcb should think about future cricketing relation with
india. i am very much sure franchises want to pick pakistani players but govt did not
allowed them to pick any single player. regarding cricketing ability of pakistani players there is
no match in this world with pakistani players specialy in T20 format. they are the best. they are world champs 1 and half time. total of 2 world events. and they are unbeaten last 8 consecutive games. IPL is not everything.
players feel proud & got popularity to play their national side not this rubish IPL,
KKR DD like this.
IPL is not a fair league in the comparison ICL. IPL should be ICC free. i hope pakistani got a lesson. Bye a true cricketing lover zain

POSTED BY
azeemkhan124
on | January 19, 2010, 17:36 GMT

indians are kind of jealous about pakistan's performance. availability is not the right reason because pakistan does not have any series during IPL. Ofcourse IPL teams deserve the right to choose the players but politics and jealousy should be apart from sports. No one can decline the fact that pakistan is the best T20 team in the world (check out the records). You can not blame the poor performance as a reason because Sohail Tanvir was the best bowler for inaugral IPL T20 and was one of the important players for rajhastan royals. Afridi was the man of the series in second t20 world cup and pakistan was finalist in first and winner in second world cup of T20.

POSTED BY
ghanii
on | January 19, 2010, 17:35 GMT

The whole drama surrounding no Pakistani players being selected for bids was a setup by Mr. Lalit Modi and the BCCI to show to the world that no franchises are interested in Pakistani players or in other words they are not good enough. Its laughable that the team which has reached both the finals of the OFFICIAL T20 World Cups has no players of it in IPL. People saying that the franchisers were concerned about the non-availability of the players are kidding themselves. If there was any such case how come no statements were made before the auctions by any of the team owners or by Lalit Modi himself? A whole setup by the BCCI and the Indian cricket governing bodies to disrespect the Pakistani cricketers.

POSTED BY
nsidd75
on | January 19, 2010, 17:35 GMT

Well as fair a person I am, I cannot fail to justify the apparent deliberate ignoring of the Pakistani players. This auction was a real sham. Don't tell me Afridi is not a crowd puller. Don't tell me he is not worth anything. Don't tell me Roach is worth more than Mohammed Amir. Don't tell me that it is not worth watching him run in to ball to Sachin Tendulker and see Afridi face up to Sreesanth.

POSTED BY
muh369
on | January 19, 2010, 17:34 GMT

I assume this is good that Pakistani players that they were not picked. This is a great opportunity for the Pakistani players to show the world, that why they are the best in T20 and shut the mouth of these crazy Indians Fobs by challenging their winning IPL team to play against Pakistani T20 Teams in "SHARJAH UAE". I guarantee you that they will never do that because they are scared like always playing against Pakistan in Sharjah UAE. I don't think the Indian cricket matches are completed without Pakistani players as they always scared from Pakistani players. Shah Rukh Khan can't do anything about this sport now. Indian cricket "BCCI" is the prime folks who hurt Pakistani cricket the Most.
Sorry for Indians and Very good for Pakistani players that they can focus on improving their own cricket now.
Again, Pakistani board, or UAE Cricket Organization (with great prize) should give an Indian IPL winning team an open challenge to play against Pakistani T20 Team and see who is best?

POSTED BY
kool_Indian
on | January 19, 2010, 17:33 GMT

Isn't it funny to see so many ppl from other countries saying that IPL has lost the fan base from their respective countries? IPL is a domestic competition, being organised by BCCI - just bcoz Indian franchises shell out big bucks - it doesnt make an International Tourney. To be honest, we dont care if have lost fan base in pak & bangladesh, we still hv 1 Billion strong fan base and this is the whole and sole reason for this tourney to be this succesful. Cricinfo was one of the sites which had made lot of fun and cheap articles were all over in the website when IPL was announced,now they are running live commentary for auction, talk abt being hyprocrytes. Franchises are in IPL for money, they dont care abt players/countries,they just care abt money, its a shame but thats how world has become. My only surprise in this whole auction was shakib being not picked - his base price was also cheap- so they cud hv picked him. Anyways, I'm rooting for my home team, DC and MI for GOD- Go DC&MI!!!

POSTED BY
Coraline_Jones
on | January 19, 2010, 17:30 GMT

Even though I am an Indian I feel sorry for Pakistani players for the way they have been treated. If franchises don't need Pakistani players then they shldn't have been shortlisted at all. Not only Pakistanis even Indians were expecting to watch Afridi in IPL. It is bad to miss him. It is certainly clear that the auction was not performed in the sporting spirit. Franchises were under pressure not to go for Pakistani players. Politically I have different opinion about Pakistan but when we are dealing with cricket politics should be separated in the light of sporting spirit. Shortlisting and ignoring is not good. I would have enjoyed watching Afridi, Gul and Tanvir. I can understand the dying passion Pakistan people have for cricket and feel sorry for them. We will miss the great feeling of Indians and Pakistanis cheering for the same team. BAD LUCK .....

POSTED BY
Aus_Fan
on | January 19, 2010, 17:27 GMT

IPL is a private tournament and it is free to discriminate if it wants to. However the ICC should distance itself from this league just as they banned South Africa for similar discriminatory practices before. No international time window should be set aside for this league and no show ICC officials should tale part in it.

POSTED BY
dahalcric
on | January 19, 2010, 17:25 GMT

I am completely shocked and suprised why pakistan players were left along side with brad haddin and the likes of shakib al hasan.This shows team wanting a stylish players who could advertise and fill dreams of their money minded boss.I think sport and political activites should not go simultaneously.I am very happy for SHANE BOND...coz he is very talented player who has potential to bring KKR from bottom to top of he table.

POSTED BY
ansram
on | January 19, 2010, 17:21 GMT

As if we did not know the Pakistani players would not be picked! Atleast they should have been clear about this before the auction. If you have your political reasons for excluding them please do so by all means but atleast be open about it.

POSTED BY
Ozzie
on | January 19, 2010, 17:20 GMT

It is certainly a political statement. After all the effort that was made by the Pakistani authorities for attaining the clearance of the players for the IPL, it is sad and disappointing that they were so vehemently ignored! The Pakistani players only made the shortlist because franchises had made a known intention to bid for them. So what changed in a week or so? There has been no negative political development which would go against their availability. The IPL and the BCCI have played a foul game here, and thats it.

It is just sad that IPL will now again miss out on the best T20 players in the world!

POSTED BY
ksmani
on | January 19, 2010, 17:20 GMT

How dare no team pick up a Pakistani player!!Huh? When(ever) a Pakistan Cricket Leagues auction happen, I want the team owners NOT to pick up even a single Indian player. (Did I get it right? I am trying to learn what is "sarcasm" and trying to understand what is "insult to injury").

POSTED BY
Coolcric123
on | January 19, 2010, 17:18 GMT

I can't believe you guys are going against pakistan. Okay even if you don't like them, there is no doubt that they are the world's best team when it comes to Twenty20; a team being in the final for the only two international tournaments of T20 held tells you how good they are, in my opinion. Surely, if the franchises didn't even want to bid for the players, then they shouldn't have put them on the shortlist. This just humiliated the country of pakistan and its players; last time they didn't include them in the auction so it was alright, but this is different. Wake up guys, you have to get used to the idea that its not only India, Sri Lanka etc that have the best players. If you also think about the political situation in Pakistan, it would have done that country the world of good to have players playing in the IPL and as for they're doing it for the money, isn't everyone? Pakistan players get less money than most of the other countries so don't you think that they deserve a bit of it?

POSTED BY
Desihungama
on | January 19, 2010, 17:16 GMT

Thank you so much India for not picking even a single Pak player. Only helps in exposing the real agenda.

POSTED BY
Lovetesh
on | January 19, 2010, 17:15 GMT

IPL is a domestic tournament and franchises are owned by inidvidual investors. Whom they want to buy is their decision. Who are we to tell then how to spend the money and organise the tournament?

POSTED BY
the_blue_android
on | January 19, 2010, 17:14 GMT

I am from India and this is definitely a game played by Modi. I really wanted to see my favorite bowlers Mohd Aamer and Mohd Asif. I think they are the best at the moment. This is a disgrace and I will not be watching a single game of IPL 3. With that said, Afridi and Tanveer will do their countrymen a favor by keeping their mouth shut. Afridi said VVS Laxman sucked as a captain. While this may be true, its disgusting to see a player speak out against the captain in a team sport. Especially when he himself was the biggest flop of the tournament.

POSTED BY
rashidkh
on | January 19, 2010, 17:14 GMT

Pakistan players like Gul and others (barring Afridi) have an exaggerated sense of their worth. These dodos don't win matches but want special treatment. I say it is what IPL has done, PCB should have done earlier and banned or punished them for the shameful loss against autralia. After that shameful match i'll never watch cricket and PCB should demand answers from these greedy bigmouths who are after money only and not the honor and dignoty of country. These mealy mouthed fools should have been shown their places by PCB.

POSTED BY
Blythesville
on | January 19, 2010, 17:13 GMT

This clearly indicates that politics are never far away from sports. Pakistan still has a long way to go to demonstrate to the cricketing world that they are dealing with some challenging matters. Authorities will continue to invite Pakistan to the dance, but they will stay seated for the evening.

POSTED BY
hank
on | January 19, 2010, 17:13 GMT

I feel very dissapointed on how evryone is blaming IPL , really at the end of the day it was PCB who chose to piss off Mr.Modi in not respecting the deadline, which was given to all cricket playing countries ,but once again our PCB management did not respect the deadline then to top it off, they were given two more extensions and they still manage to screw that up , then for Mr.Ijaz Butt to come out and make IPL look bad ,well yesterday was the most prime example of how the PCB keeps on screwing it up for our players, our nation , and our fans , so put the blame where it due , and know the facts , you can not come to someone else's house and show no respect ,this is all about respect forget the business side it is the respect side right now PCB is definitely lacking that ,they need to show more respect for their own players , Even though I am a die hard Pakistan cricket team fan , lately I have been very dissapointed ...

POSTED BY
atiq_pak
on | January 19, 2010, 17:11 GMT

IPL will be a low stander tounament as world champions were ignored.

POSTED BY
srikarthik
on | January 19, 2010, 17:09 GMT

Kudos to the IPL franchises for doing the right thing... and I agree with "krisreddy". GET A LIFE!!!

POSTED BY
mark111
on | January 19, 2010, 17:07 GMT

I think the best way Afridi can hit back is to lead his team to a successful title defence, preferably beating India in the final. Do you think the Pak players would have been ignored if the PCB and BCCI were still good mates? Why couldn't the so-called efficient IPL organisers have clarified the status on Pakistan's players in the IPL with the agencies concerned once and for all? Pakistan's hockey team will be in India for the World Cup next month, so what could be the possible problem with Pak players in IPL? Going by the fixtures on Cricinfo, Pakistan doesn't seem to be playing any cricket during the IPL. So, the player availability factor given by some franchises doesn't hold. And saying that they didn't have places available for Pakistan players is such a farce. If you or I were the owners of a Twenty20 team, wouldn't we jump at the prospect of having Afridi given his current form. Also, Umar Gul is a proven Twenty20 performer, whereas an injury-prone Bond even failed in the ICL.

POSTED BY
kewlsid05
on | January 19, 2010, 17:06 GMT

@nuance2k5: U made the most sensible comment. I advise others flaming India or Mr. Modi or the franchise owners to plz read his comment. And plz Mr. arch.awais, we really dont need those 200,846,310 spectators. The advertisers are Indian companies which have little to no operation in Pakistan. So i guess, no great loss of income. Anyhow, the pakistani players are not THAT good! Afridi has never been consistent. He might be explosive in 1 out of 20 matches but so is my Grandmother!

Pak won the T20 WC and i am fine with that. But its a once in a blue moon thing. Anyhow the real pedigree is seen in Test Cricket and i was really able to see that in the just concluded Aus-Pak series!

POSTED BY
Murtaza83
on | January 19, 2010, 17:06 GMT

Availability for the entire season? remember the australians from the first year of the ipl?
questions about their performances? Pakistan are world champions, with arguably the two best bowlers in the format in Gul and Afridi, with rana naveed having a great season at the big bash in australia, aamer and umar akmal being exciting new talents and abdul razzak with his proven 20/20 abilities, you cant tell me they arent good enough for a team but wayne parnell and kemar roach are.
This is straight up BS, its not business at all it is personal. If the teams were taking a business approach to this, they would realize how pakistani fans make up for almost 15% of the viewership, too much to lose. For those who think ipl two wasnt a flop, have a look at the videos and the crowds at the stadium, it was a flop.
We all know what has happened here. The guys buying into the excuses by the teams are straight up stupid.

POSTED BY
atiq_pak
on | January 19, 2010, 17:02 GMT

shame for international cricket,ICC,India and Pakistan as well.The world champions and the best players in T20 cricket were ignored.It is the discrimination and this league should be ban as ICC rules are clear,there should be no discrimination.

If Pakistanis were not eligible for the team then why they were shortlisted,the double stander of ICC and BCCI is very clear now.the best players will not participate in IPL then how can you say it is a quality tournament.It is proved in Champions league that there is no stander of IPL teams.both finalist were from Australia where Pakistani's are playing T20 big bash.

Even in Champions league there was no indian team in semi finals out of 3 teams,so think modi in the absence of best player you can not raise your standers.As your Indian team was failed to qualify for semi in T20s world cup even you were the wold chapion before the IPL 1.

Nothing but very clearly India is trying to hurt Pakistan's cricket.

POSTED BY
dg9528
on | January 19, 2010, 17:01 GMT

world s best players for twenty 20 have not been picked up there .that hurts.we will see how shane bond can bowl like sohail tanvir or shoib.

POSTED BY
Lahori_Munde
on | January 19, 2010, 16:56 GMT

This is very unfortunate the way Pakistani players have reacted. What is more unfortunate for that nation is their seniors even joined bandwagon with their irresponsible comments. I am not surprise with anything anymore with Pakistan cricket. Think about this, they only had 13 positions open and about 69 players were selected. Each frechise has US$750,000 to spend. That's lots of money to spend for one player and they're going to be very cautious the way they spend it. I can see why they didn't risk with Pakistani players as they may not be available to play if the political situation between two countries deteriorate. I followed past IPLs and I don't think the motor mouth of Afridi and Gul really helped their respective teams as both their teams peformed badly. Also the Pakistani players (Tanweer, Akmal) who did really well during IPL1, are out of form over the last few months. Don't get emotional, IPL is business and they do what gets them most bang for their $

POSTED BY
Skylight28
on | January 19, 2010, 16:55 GMT

There is no doubt that the Pakistanis are good players, but this is about bringing together a team that can play together. There was enough doubt about the eventual availability of Pakistani players, and so they did not attract bids. Period. It is NOT a political statement because the people making the bidding decisions are not politicians but businessmen. Playing the Pakistanis just doesn't make business sense right now.

POSTED BY
SelvaK
on | January 19, 2010, 16:54 GMT

As a Cricket fan, I'm sure we are going to miss the fierce action from PAK players. But, we also should respect franchisie's decision who have the responsiblity to show the results Vs the money they spent. I feel sorry for PAK players. IPL should have not shortlisted their names during initial screening itself. we could have avoided so many IFs, SOs and guessings. - Selva.K

POSTED BY
RajitD
on | January 19, 2010, 16:53 GMT

The auctions of year 2 and 3 have inherently been unfair to the players who got picked in the first season. Lot of players have in year 2 and 3 have undeservingly got too much (JP / KP / Freddie / Parnell). If this were a full auction, I doubt if any team would have been stupid enough to let go of the Pakis. However, given that only 10-12 slots were up for grabs, and 67 were available, the market shifted to a buyers market. Would have been great to see an Afridi and Mohd Aamer though. Would have thought these two would have certainly got picked, along with Kamran Akmal for Mumbai Indians.

POSTED BY
inswing
on | January 19, 2010, 16:45 GMT

The attacks of 26/11 still linger over Pakistani players. It seems that no team wants to be associated with Pakistan, which is unfortunate because there are some great players. The teams still don't know how to bid. The worst way to pick players is to set your mind on one player ahead of time, and try to get him at any cost. There are a lot of great international players available, so it is silly to get into a bidding war. Bond, Pollard etc. are very good, but they are not 3-4 times better than other top international players in the auction. If Rajansthan was willing to spend a little more, they could have had much better players because most others spent their money on a single player.

POSTED BY
krisreddy
on | January 19, 2010, 16:45 GMT

IPL is a private franchise and the team owners have all the rights to chose who is better suited for their needs. Pakistanis commenting here, Get a life.

POSTED BY
engineer1713
on | January 19, 2010, 16:43 GMT

If i was an Indian,i would dig up a hole and hide my face in it!.For Pakistani players its a blessing in disguise.They do not need to play in India as there standard is far below to even qualify for semifinal of champions league.If Pakistani players had played in IPL it would have been better for Indian players as they would have learned from them.

POSTED BY
girikula
on | January 19, 2010, 16:43 GMT

1- Sour grapes! Pak players are cribbing as they lost money making chance. 2 - Pak players were not picked due to their a) attitude problem b) poor performance c) team rifts 3- Whole world will watch IPL even if Pakis wont watch it 4-IPL will still remain successful as crores of Indians like and love cricket 5- India will not care of outsiders dont watch IPL (just see how stands were full in SA, if anyone has other thouts) 6- IPL franchisees are business teams and they deserve the right to chose whom they want 7- Anyone complains when a british football club does not pick a particular nation's player? :-)

POSTED BY
crikkfan
on | January 19, 2010, 16:38 GMT

Why all this hue and cry about Pakis getting ignored? This is a private league dammit - not BCCI. They can pick whoever they want and pay them what they can. They are running a business here - Aus_Fan - you have no idea how leagues work? Do you complain if Read Madrid does not have a single English player?? Chup.

POSTED BY
wah_uae
on | January 19, 2010, 16:38 GMT

I am sure its shocked to everyone including indian cricket fans...why they didnt pickup the pakistani player's for IPL. ..its shows the spirit of indian cricket which need some more time to get matured.

POSTED BY
kpradyu060
on | January 19, 2010, 16:36 GMT

good that pakistanis arent playing.but gul akmal could have been picked

POSTED BY
cricbytes
on | January 19, 2010, 16:33 GMT

All these comments that say that its a proper auction what a sense they have.
Let me remind them that it was Lalit Modi Who set the deadlines for documents of Pakistan players. And the franchises required their visa informations from Pakistan and Cricket Board. When they were not planning to bid for any of the Pakistan Players. Then why this pre auction drama. Even a very dumb person can realize that what false play has been done by ipl and BCCI. I am saying again, this is not important for Pakistan players to be part of IPL. Infact it is for ipl to claim they have a internation event going on. Certainly a boycot for IPL this year. And i know it does not matter to ipl or bcci. But it will be eventaully.

POSTED BY
anreddy9
on | January 19, 2010, 16:28 GMT

It was obvious that the franchises don't want to take any risk. They are businessmen and will not select a player to make their political stand. And also, the attitude of most Pakistan players is questionable. Afridi makes controversial statements such as that IPL is nothing in front of Big Bach, and many such comments. So, one gets what he deserves. Anyway, he in particular, was a big waste of money invested by Deccan Charges in IPL-I. DC ended last that yr and Mr. Afridi didn't perform in a single game....a white elephant.

POSTED BY
Warrior2k8
on | January 19, 2010, 16:24 GMT

@adiweb86 and JackSparrows : LOLZ, you guys have got outstanding cricketing minds as you have this unique ability of comparing apples & oranges, I mean Test Cricket and T20. comments based upon test record for T20 bidding, joke of the decade if not century :P

Agreed they have differences between them, agreed that they are not consistent, agreed that IPL was a big success even without them in season 2. But still they are united enough to reach the final of 1st world T20, they still were consistent enough to win the second world T20. Can anybody deny the abilities of Afridi in T29 format at International level???? Three matches for South Australia and 2 man of the match awards. Man of the tournament for first world T20. Haaaaa....... yeaaaah not good enoughfor T20 LOLZ

POSTED BY
smacker80
on | January 19, 2010, 16:24 GMT

I find it funny that the Pak supporters are frustrated that it is "IPL's loss".. How funny. Many Indians do not like Pak players in their regional teams. I do agree that pakistan has some good players, but why should we give our money to you guys? Its OUR money & OUR wish on where to spend. And, IPL is mainly targetted at Indian audience - don't worry about losing Pakistani audience!! Pakistan could never start a PPL.. oh, they couldn't host any country for cricket at home in the first place!

POSTED BY
vizraj
on | January 19, 2010, 16:21 GMT

Good to see Pakistan players excluded from IPL III. They are'nt that great that people are making fuss about their exclusion. They had a nice bag of money last year without playing a single game. Why should the franchise purchase them when we all know that their paper work won't be sorted out by the time of IPL start.

Good Luck boys! See you next year!

POSTED BY
tri400
on | January 19, 2010, 16:18 GMT

There has to be 1 or 2 Pakistan based teams in the expanded IPL. A Bangladesh based team has to be there too.

In the ICL, there are teams from Lahore and Dhaka, so why not in the IPL?

POSTED BY
Krade
on | January 19, 2010, 16:17 GMT

People who think that Paki players weren't picked in the auction based on ability and perhaps their poor recent performance need to think rationally. This is a cricketing nation that is suffering in test cricket solely because their players have limited-overs instincts

Is this decision really based on the political tension between the two sides? Oh come on, worse case scenarios have occurred and either team has still visited each other and played cricket. Do you not remember the legendary incident of Wasim leading the team in a test series in India with the most hostile environment ever? Do you not remember the IPL game where Akhtar's spell of 4 wickets against Delhi erupted the Indian crowd significantly more than when India's own team takes a wicket against team X.

What's more astounding is that the franchises insisted an interest in the players, only to dismiss their selection

You think Gilly or Warne wouldn't urge to have Gul or Afridi snapped in their team if given the chance?

POSTED BY
AdnanKhan
on | January 19, 2010, 16:16 GMT

To make IPL a real success internationally, players from all major cricketing nations should have been picked. Otherwise, what interest people will have whose representation is not there at all. If organizers have only India in mind then it is a different story. Omitting Pakistani player doesn't make any sense. I also feels for Bangladeshi fans who were sure for Shakib at least. He is better than Kamp who is not representing its country in any form of cricket at the moment. Spending just little more would have given IPL additional viewership of 35 million fans in Pakistan and Bangladesh. IPL is just a 2 year baby. Let it grow naturally or it will never mature.

POSTED BY
mh.navuda
on | January 19, 2010, 16:15 GMT

Why all are angry about pakistani player not picked for IPL?. Its still not clear about whether they are going to participate fully or not.Lots depend on the relationhip between 2 country at the time of the tournment. Why should franchiesies take risk. Mind all the people its just buisness and entertainment.Its not a tournment where cricket is main thing...

POSTED BY
wakeel
on | January 19, 2010, 16:08 GMT

No Pakistani Players, UNFAIR!!
i l boycott IPL for sure!

POSTED BY
mechky2009
on | January 19, 2010, 16:06 GMT

i seriously dnt think tht IPL will lose its viewership coz none of the pakistani players are playing!!
About not picking afridi(I still dnt remeber a single batting heroic from him in past 12 months,do u?),Sohail tanvir(I havent seen him in pakistan team for a while,whts he doing?enjoyng vacation in bahamas?) and rana naved(from when did he become world class?) i dnt thnk any IPL franchise has done anythng wrong specially when u dnt knw whether the player will be available for the tourney itself!!
Hard luck for others like akmal bros,nazir..

POSTED BY
Aus_Fan
on | January 19, 2010, 16:04 GMT

Very unsavory incident for international cricket. The IPL teams can select who they wish, but the ICC and other cricket boards need to distance themselves from such a discriminatory league.

POSTED BY
Imtiazuddin
on | January 19, 2010, 16:03 GMT

i cant understand if they dont want to buy Pakistani player y da hell they have short listed them for the auction, its unbelievable wats happening over there, their basic motive is clear just to disgrace Pakistan and its cricket.

POSTED BY
zyni
on | January 19, 2010, 15:55 GMT

its not about sports its about politics , well as far as the pakistani players performance is talking about , they are poor in tests but its T20 u never gna ask them to play like test cricketers...... look at the performace of IMRAN NAZIR in both ICL his record speaks for himself,,,,, the way he beated indian bowlers and others were terrefic , i feel really sorry for thiose indian people who wanted to see pakistani players in IPL3

POSTED BY
KieronPollard
on | January 19, 2010, 15:52 GMT

While some of you posters are crying over the issue of Pakistani Players not being chosen in the auctions. It should be noted that this is a business venture, and in recent times the Pak players have clearly not been upto their usual standards (White wash of the test series) and i for one wouldnt blame the Franchises for not choosing some of the players, in regards to their form as well as their availability. Whats the point on shelling out huge amounts of cash if players are not even going to be available for at least half of the games. Pretty stupid if you ask me.

For all you Afridi fans, His contract with Deccan chargers was discarded due to his pretty "ordinary performances", and his inability to interact with teammates.

POSTED BY
reality_check
on | January 19, 2010, 15:50 GMT

@adiweb86. Since IPL is a 20/20 format, here are some facts you have decided to ignore in this context. Who are the current T20 WC champions? Pakistan. Who are the two players contributing most to their team's performance in winning T20 WC? Afridi and Gul. I rest my case. Better question to ask is why go thru the whole tedious process of short listing the Pak players with extending deadlines and all only to end up with this joke? Modi does not want to answer this publicly yet everyone knows the answer.

POSTED BY
Jarr30
on | January 19, 2010, 15:48 GMT

Indian fans don't care if pak players are there or not..so stop cribbing. As far Afridi's statements about being angered, I don't understand it, as we all saw how pathetic his performance was in the first IPL why would someone buy an inconsistent performer. Also Pakistan performance against Australia was horrible.. So on what grounds should the franchise buy any Pakistan players.

POSTED BY
AdnanKhan
on | January 19, 2010, 15:48 GMT

Today, its Pakistan. Tomorrow it will be another country or player. If this Indian attitude will continue, no one will be interested in the tournament soon. I wonder IPL is increasing its audience or limited to India only.

POSTED BY
arch.awais
on | January 19, 2010, 15:24 GMT

yet again ipl has lost 200,846,310 spectator by not biding for pakistani players.
And for me it should be a big question mark wether the player were not upto it or the system that runs cricket.

ICC should come forward and take part in organizing a so called champions league that can have the representation of all sides.

POSTED BY
nuance2k5
on | January 19, 2010, 15:22 GMT

Not picking the Pakistani players has more to do with "other" reasons than Cricketing reasons. I feel sorry for the players, but from a business standpoint for the franchises, it is very difficult to plan for the season when the relations between the two countries are still very fragile. If there were guarantees from either side of the border that there will not be any interference from the governments, I think it would have given the franchises some confidence. On the other hand another theory could be that this way the franchises can sign on the players at a lower price tag than the auction. It will be very interesting to see what lies in store. I don't think it is fair to blame anyone at this time as the details are still not clear. Mr. Modi has to come out clean or it will certainly have a bearing on the reputation of the IPL. Hope the game of Cricket does not lose its sheen in the process.

POSTED BY
Bilal_Choudry
on | January 19, 2010, 15:20 GMT

This is a blessing in disguise for pakistan players they will now dominate in countries where they should play and get experience like SA, AUS and UK. Afridi is already playing in AUS and picked for SA and UK. They have played in india like conditions all the time

POSTED BY
dpathak
on | January 19, 2010, 15:18 GMT

Why all this fuss about "Pakistani players ignored"!! I thought Afridi, Gul or Tanvir might get picked this time. But then, Afridi was one of the biggest flops in IPL # 1. Also, don't forget that some of the paperwork still needs to be done for Pakistani players and the tourny starts in less than 2 months! IPL is not about cricket, it's about business. And any businessman would play safe on the basis of two previous experiences. BTW, I'm really surprised that Shakib was left out this time as well!!! I think T20 is more "All-rounder's" game and he has been #1 allrounder of the world for a long time!! Very interesting!!

POSTED BY
Tamoor171
on | January 19, 2010, 15:18 GMT

I am as stunned as everybody else is here in Australia on exclusion of Pakistani players. I think atleast Afridi, Umar Akmal, Nazeer and Rana can never be ignored. How on earth can you ignore Afrdi---the man of the series for two inaugural T20 World cups,Can you?

POSTED BY
rakib007
on | January 19, 2010, 15:18 GMT

shakib al hasan is no. 1 all rounder .but he was not chosen by any team. what a shame! we would love to see his bating & bowling. i think that's why ipl may be bored to all of Bangladeshi. because we are famous for power cricket, but unfortunately we are always being neglected by the Indian rich guys. even those players who had sold in past, not able to play any game except one. shame to u guys

POSTED BY
klobania
on | January 19, 2010, 15:13 GMT

i think ipl think tank has made its own loss by not considering australian and pakistani players. tournament could have been better had those super stars been there. anyhow i don't see any strategy or unavailiblity concerns but it shows the mentality of ipl think tank.

POSTED BY
Deepriser
on | January 19, 2010, 15:12 GMT

I will only say shame on BCCI, Shame on Lalit, all franchises and their owners and in the end shame on IPL.

POSTED BY
tacool1
on | January 19, 2010, 15:07 GMT

IPL is becoming an International tournament and I think it is important that everyone participate in it. Pakistani players were not chosen, so what. If we think it is IPL's loss let it be. We can always settle the matter by having a best of 5 T20 series between Best of IPL and Pakistan at a neutral venue and settle the scores.

POSTED BY
pradhu
on | January 19, 2010, 15:05 GMT

well why make a fuzz about availability pak players,there is one one slot available for franchise and availability of pak players are not confirmed yet, for example kkr has only one spot if they purchase umar gul and if he not plays the door is closed foe them thats y they not taking a risk its quite natural from the last season itself they understood it dont matters who ever big the player is the availability matters thats why no pakistan selected and about afridi he himself said that he dont rate ipl above australian t20 and sa t20 now he all of a sudden he feels for ipl
i feel sad about shakib though but he is not avilable full season may be thats y

I think I might be able to digest the flimsy argument that no Pakistani player got picked because of uncertainty. You can always draft contracts which can protect the franchise in case of no-show by Pakistani players due to some future issues between India and Pakistan. However, this is not good for the relations between the two countries and also not good for cricket. Pakistan is T20 World Champions. They also have the best T20 club cricket teams as well. Pity that they could not play in the club championship as it was held in India. However, IPL is an Indian tournament. Its up to the people and businesses in India to do what they feel is right from their perspective. However, leaving Pakistani players out is bad judgment both from a sporting as well as socio-political perspective.

POSTED BY
Roamer
on | January 19, 2010, 15:01 GMT

@adiweb86 please prove that Pakistan lost 5th consecutive series on the trot as thats a lie, and guess what they were bidding T20 not a test team and in T20 they are the world champs with the best winning record compared to anyother team in the world and if you think Afridi was too bad in IPL1 and this is the reason why they were not picked then what about Sohail Tanvir ?!?! he was the bowler of the tournament .... remember purple cap ?!?! .... just grow up as this decision had nothing to do with cricket but only politics nothing else !!

POSTED BY
bouncer22
on | January 19, 2010, 15:00 GMT

While I understand the hurt feelings of some of Pak players (after all, it's a question of performing on a big stagecompeting with the "who-is-who" of world cricket - apart from the BIG bucks.) - I am not convinced about some of the comments of the people on this forum that "IPL #3 would be a failure... because Pak players were ignored.." rubbish..!
Had IPL # 2 failed..? Was it not a resounding success - with all last moment changes of the palying country itself..?? And oh - yes... not a single Pak player played in that as well.
Get real guys. IPL would be a success as long as the public in India are not bored of T20 ... irrespective of the participation of Pak players.

POSTED BY
wkdinidu
on | January 19, 2010, 14:57 GMT

I think This is fair and wat about player like Angelo methews.. and thissara Perera is hard hitting batsmen his price is very cheap ... wat about nuwan kulasekara .. ?

POSTED BY
Hayatsanaye
on | January 19, 2010, 14:56 GMT

Just pathetic considering what the starting rate for Pakistani players were and the conditions they were going to place on the them.

Boycott IPL fro me.....

POSTED BY
Screen_Name1
on | January 19, 2010, 14:56 GMT

Will anyone be interested in spending thousands of dollars to get a product that may not reach them due some politics? I guess 'No'. All want to play safe.

Already franchises have invested a lot of money and like any businessmen they will look for profits and IPL is all about money.

They are not bothered about players welfare as well. As soon as IPL ends, we have 20-20 world cup and all Indian players will be fatigued. Where is the 'National' cause for which this was started.

It was all money right from beginning and no one can change this. It is like any film producer who have money and making movies the way they like it. Only difference is that we crazy fans will watch it whether it is hit or flop. I guess this is the IPL mantra.

POSTED BY
Bytheway
on | January 19, 2010, 14:55 GMT

If Pakistan had won the Sydney test as they should have, there would have been demand for Pakistan cricketers. As it is they did'nt, so there is no demand for them. Big bucks want winners.

POSTED BY
mustufa
on | January 19, 2010, 14:53 GMT

Oh you can't put this under the rug, you can try as much as you want. They did for the reason Afridi pointed out, now you can sugar coat it as much as you want, its their for everyone to see.

POSTED BY
vinodtheyyan
on | January 19, 2010, 14:53 GMT

Why would any franchise taking a risk in taking a pakistani player, there is no assurance that they would be playing the next year.

POSTED BY
reality_check
on | January 19, 2010, 14:51 GMT

I never had any interest in IPL from year 1 bacause it's cricket mixed in with Bollywood and some businessmen who are only interetsed in making money... nothing more then that. The whole shameless episode of IPL 3 auction in making the Pak players go thru the entire process of getting the clearance just to show no interest in them at the right time was basically to humiliate them. Afridi and co should get a strong message from this and stay clear from IPL in the future. These childish tactics by Modi will only result in well deserved early demise of the IPL outside India and it will be relegated to just a local Indian tamasha for the Bollywood crazy public.

POSTED BY
qasim04
on | January 19, 2010, 14:42 GMT

i think now pakistani team just have to try to reach to the final of the coming ODI world cup and then they should refues to go to India to play the final...........hope fully it happen......

POSTED BY
PakiMuslimRazaHussnain
on | January 19, 2010, 14:40 GMT

If ever there was an event of sheer hatred against someone this one will go pretty close in making it to the top. Hang on though! what do they think they have done? This chapter is not closed yet. We are going to retaliate . Not only are we going to condemn this but also, a lot of people now in Pakistan will turn away from bollywood movies. This has gone on to hurt us really deep, and they will have to compensate for it. If you are trying to sideline us, expect "EXACTLY" the same from us.

POSTED BY
Quazar
on | January 19, 2010, 14:38 GMT

As a cricket fan, and as an Indian, I am saddened and disappointed by the avoidance of Pakistan cricketers. Of course, money is at stake and franchise owners face the risk of non-availability if India-Pak political situation worsens. But still, it would have been a strong message of hope for better relations if Indian and Pakistani players played side by side. Especially now when peace efforts are on...some friends of mine just attended an Indo-Pak music concert in Mumbai last week. What happened today is definitely a setback. I'm still gonna watch the IPL...but I wish Afridi, Akmal, Aamer and others were involved. (Thankfully, at least Wasim Akram will be involved as KKR bowling consultant.)

POSTED BY
AyrtonS
on | January 19, 2010, 14:35 GMT

The fact of the matter is that the Pakistani players comes with too much baggage attached. IPL is a business and as is normal in business, the owners went for the players that would cause the least amount of interruption and be the best value for their money.

I am sorry for them but the option is open to Pakistan to form their own version of the IPL. Any Pakistani takers?

POSTED BY
kankesh.t
on | January 19, 2010, 14:34 GMT

many can say that pakistani players were ignored but many of australian players were also ignored a batsmen like brad haddin and any way now that they are not in ipl they can prepare more for defending their t-20 crown and be the real winners bcoz world cup will be seen by more people.

POSTED BY
Roamer
on | January 19, 2010, 14:33 GMT

Modi seems to suggest that players from Pakistan were left out because of their skills .... if this is the case then can someone please explain to me that Martyn, Voges, Roach and others except for Pollard are better then Afridi, Razzaq, Umer Akmal and Umer Gul in T20 format !!! I being an Indian feel ashamed of this cowardly act by the organzers and seems to me that this was just a game played by Modi and his team to disgrace Pakistan and its stars. Cricket WAS a game for gentlemen .... not anymore its all about politics and money nothing else

POSTED BY
Kamran_Hashmi
on | January 19, 2010, 14:33 GMT

IPL and India continues to degrade Pakistan. How could they pick the best players of Twenty20. Afrid, Gul and Nazir could've been the players to watch in this edition of IPL. But sadly, this will be another tasteless event.....

POSTED BY
HBfromBuffalo
on | January 19, 2010, 14:28 GMT

I think this is a wake up call for Pakistan. The only countries that have help Pakistan in time of need, besides Sri Lanka, are Australia, New Zealand and England. The Asian Bloc as we knew it is defunct. Pakistan should look at this the next time there is a decision to made. Pollard going for over $700,000 and Afridi for none? Gimme a break. Every Pakistani player had been given government approval, so there is nothing but politics at play here. Man, I can't wait for the Twenty20 World Cup!

POSTED BY
TwitterJitter
on | January 19, 2010, 14:26 GMT

Some of the picks are easy to understand. Chennai wanted to improve in bowling department and they went after fast bowlers. Kolkata wanted experienced fast bowlers after their bad experience with Ishant Sharma last year. Hence Bond. Bangalore wanted some hitters in the middle order to accelerate score and hence Morgan. I also understand they went after Pollard for the same reason. Mumbai seem to be going for batting all rounders. They have Sanath, Duminy, Bravo and now Pollard. Deccan desperately need good bowlers. Their bowling attack is pathetic and hence they went after pace bowlers. Delhi, I am not very sure. They already have 2 left arm pace bowlers in Nannes and Nehra. May be Nannes is not available for a period because of Sheffield and hence Parnell. Royals might have gone with Warne's choice. Punjab confounds me. They did not bid for anyone. May be they got burnt by unavailable players last year and hence Abdulla who is sure to be available. May be they wanted to save cash.

POSTED BY
adiweb86
on | January 19, 2010, 14:25 GMT

Umar Akmal hasn't even completed 1 full year in international cricket and people have started to call him "one of the best batsmen in the world"!!. His dismal performances in all 3 tests in Aus spoke volumes of his "talent". It won't make an iota of difference if he doesn't play in IPL.

POSTED BY
Gerontius
on | January 19, 2010, 14:25 GMT

Why did the franchises allow Pakistani players onto the shortlist if they are not going to bid for them? I don't see the logic.

POSTED BY
adiweb86
on | January 19, 2010, 14:22 GMT

Everyone saw Afridi's abominable performance in IPL 1, i don't know what all the fuss is about. Considering his utterly inconsistent record, it hardly matters to any ofl the franchises whether he played for them or not.

POSTED BY
Deenesh
on | January 19, 2010, 14:21 GMT

Although I support India, i would've loved to see some Pakistani players like afridi..
Politics has indeed corrupted cricket. The amount of money involved plays a part too...

POSTED BY
adiweb86
on | January 19, 2010, 14:19 GMT

This issue is being blown out of proportions by the Pakistani media and cricketers. I don't think it would make much of a difference anyway without their players. C'mon these guys are so poor they just lost their 11th test on the trot to Australia, 5th consecutive series whitewash.

POSTED BY
dunnock
on | January 19, 2010, 14:14 GMT

The owners will obviously be skeptical about the Pakistani players being available to them when requried. It is an open secret that Pakistani players are skilled, but lack discipline. It is said that even Akram was not interested in taking in Pakistani players for KKR anymore as he was apprehensive about their attitude, availability, and also their tendency to skip practices. So then less said the better about others !

POSTED BY
zizou313
on | January 19, 2010, 14:13 GMT

it is extremely dissapointing that none of the pakistan players have been inducted in the IPl and frankly speaking its their loss not Pakistan's. they are the ones missing out on the most exciting players. In my opinion this was already preplanned by the IPl heads specially lalit Modi who i think is an absolute disgrace for trying to make a divide in sports. sports is meant to even out political crises and give people joy to see their stars perform. all i can say is that IPl wont be the smae without our pakistani boys

POSTED BY
CiMP
on | January 19, 2010, 14:07 GMT

It is disappointing that the four ace Pakistanis Afridi, Gul, Aamer and Umar were not bid for. Thats going to take a bit of sheen out of IPL III. Clearly the teams have gone for risk mitigation. Australians like Brad Haddin are also not signed up for the same reason. The franchisees have looked for 'poora paisa vasool' in the last year of the first round of the IPL. Hence players fully available like Martyn and Bond have been signed up but guys like Swann have been ignored. Unlike last two years where part availability was ok, all investments have to be recovered in this year. So ROI was the guiding principle in strategy making. ... The silent tie breaker is a rotten process. The public must know what the actual price bid for Pollard and Bond. Can RTI be invoked? :) Indian business is yet to grow up and become transparent. Surely this is not cricket. But then this is just money spinning 'tamasha' anyway!

POSTED BY
JackSparrows
on | January 19, 2010, 14:03 GMT

It doesnt come as shock to me because none of the pakistani players have an attitude of being a team player, not even in their on national team where they all are blaming each other for poorest of performances in Australia. They are mainly involved in spats arguments and I dont think any team would want players like this. Although there are few gentlemen and good players in current pakistan team but rest are useless. No, I wont miss a single Pak player in IPL...

POSTED BY
mumkin
on | January 19, 2010, 12:33 GMT

cricket used to be a game of gentalmen, its no more after some dirty politics. who can match umar gul and afridi? no one

POSTED BY
SyedShaheen
on | January 19, 2010, 12:33 GMT

i dont understand .... why not even single pakistani players were taken ... IPL# is going to be another booooooring tourney without paki players ... how bazare !

POSTED BY
binty1
on | January 19, 2010, 12:29 GMT

what a load of rubbish and its the pakistani players fault for taking the bait
not a single player picked, afridi the best allrounder, gul one of the best bowlers, along with amir and umar akmal the most promising, the ipl frannchises have a lot of explaining to do and maybe the pakistan cricket team can now forget about the ipl and concentrate on test cricket.

POSTED BY
aditya.chv
on | January 19, 2010, 12:26 GMT

the article fails to mention the lack of bids on the pakistani players.anyhow it was a good auction and Modi should let the people outside know about the value of the secret bids so that the players and others can really know how much teams shelled out for bond and pollard.How Kaif was picked up by Punjab is still unclear from the article:If he was ignored in the 1st round then why was he given more than his base price??
Can anyone throw some light on this?

POSTED BY
DeadPinkOwl
on | January 19, 2010, 12:25 GMT

So they just wanted to put the Pakistani players names so that they could humiliate them by ignoring them when the bidding takes place. Says it all about the small mindedness of the people running this IPL farce~!

POSTED BY
smartguy786
on | January 19, 2010, 12:25 GMT

By ignoring the best team in the world PAKISTAN players, has definately watered down the IPL. for me and many us out there ......they will be no interest............in the competetion

POSTED BY
shamilion
on | January 19, 2010, 12:23 GMT

this is a disgrace that none of the pakistani players were picked

POSTED BY
Taha_Farrukh
on | January 19, 2010, 12:22 GMT

Well this auction shows that all Franchises have already made their mind to not piked world T20 Champions players (Pakistan) which is really set back for IPL III......England player's will not available due to nation duties ....AUS players will not make sure they will participate in IPL comming adition after they been threat by some inidain's and few player's not attarcted by Franchises......... now count down have started and soon IPL will be floop ........i think we will see only local guys in IPL 4........ if the suition and politices will remain in IPL management..........

POSTED BY
adeeeel
on | January 19, 2010, 12:21 GMT

Lalit Modi should have the courage to tell everyone that he does not want pakistani players in the IPL !
pretty two-faced he is I must say !!
And the explanation he gives is, that there are other players from other countries who have not been picked !! yeah right Mr. Modi !! You really expect us to buy that from you ?

POSTED BY
Just_Love_Cricket
on | January 19, 2010, 12:15 GMT

Not one of the world cup winning Pakistani players was selected despite Franchises showing initial interest. Was there some foul play here before the auctions were done ?
Definately smell of dirty politics being played.

POSTED BY
muralikris
on | January 19, 2010, 12:14 GMT

I am from India, but I strongly feel that league lacks that edge without Pakistan players. At least some franchises should have shown interest in Afridi and Umar Gul.

POSTED BY
Sriram_Krishnamurthy
on | January 19, 2010, 12:04 GMT

Surprising to see that nobody opted for Afridi, Gul, Mohammed Aamil and Tanvir (purple cap in the first edition). At least with Afridi one can associate disciplinary issues, but that is not the case with Gul, Aamer and Tanvir. Sad that we will be missing some real Pakistani talent in action.

POSTED BY
cinder49
on | January 19, 2010, 11:58 GMT

This IPL3 auction seems strange. It is not easy to digest that not even a single Pakistani player got through in today's bid. Strange .. very strange!

POSTED BY
Deepan1983
on | January 19, 2010, 11:49 GMT

CSK recruited the services of Justin Kemp & T.Perara.... Now the team filled with Batting alrounders.... ROCK ON CSK on IPL-3

POSTED BY
OmarNizam
on | January 19, 2010, 11:42 GMT

The arrogance of the Indian franchise owners is highlighted in Shakib Al-Hasan's non-bidding in the IPL. He's 25th on the ODI Batsmen's list, 3rd on the ODI Bowler's list, and 1st on the ODI All-Rounder's list. What more must he do to get picked by a team? Does the fact that he plays for a team that is ranked low in the ODI standings merit such contempt for Bangladeshi players? The best 'All-rounder' India can boast of at the moment is Yuvraj Singh, and while he is undoubtedly a matchwinner with the bat, he is nothing short of a Sunday bowler with the ball. The IPL just lost a 160 million strong fan base thanks to this show of arrogance.

POSTED BY
Deb_Rockstars
on | January 19, 2010, 11:42 GMT

The Guy getting the minimum bid gets $50K or INR 23,00,000+ for 6 week effort. Thats the minimum. How many Indians earn that in entire year ? probably..no..surely less than 5% of the population ? And yet everyone is so gung-ho about IPL auction....Just realize this is merely toys for the big boys...the Mallyas & Ambanis...loose change emptied from their fat purses for passing indulgence.

POSTED BY
Lovetesh
on | January 19, 2010, 11:42 GMT

Most sensible ipl auction till date. Felt for pakistan players, but when serious money is involved business men/women will look for assurance.

POSTED BY
Thrill_of_Copsterhill_218
on | January 19, 2010, 11:41 GMT

I think the Pakistanis were only included to show the IPL was inclusive and bipartisan the truth its all political and they never stood a chance of being picked. This is purely a political decision to isolate Pakistan and Pakistani cricket. The Pakistani players should focus their energy on winning the T20 world cup in a few months time and show modi and his cronies who is the best (albeit in this format). They should also boycott any future IPL editions.

Pleased for Roach, Pollard and Parnell but it would have been good to see Umar and Aamer there too.

POSTED BY
chinaman75
on | January 19, 2010, 11:40 GMT

Bond will be a great buy for Kolkata. Even though he has retired from test cricket his last game against Pakistan was brilliant and showed us he still has his pace and quile with the ball.
Expect plenty of stumps to fly and the odd six down the bottom of the order. Great job Kolkata.

POSTED BY
Ali.Aftabb
on | January 19, 2010, 11:39 GMT

Its hard to believe that Roach with one good spell in test cricket can beat Umar Gul, who is arguably has the best T20 bowling record over the period of time. "Rajisthan Royals not being loyal" to their purple cap Sohail Tanvir, who played a big hand in their win in the first season.

This auction is a big blow to the peace process between the two countries, Yes! its only cricket but cricket is more than sports in this part of the world. Sadly such incidents create hatred which is totally uncalled for in the present situation

POSTED BY
Roamer
on | January 19, 2010, 11:37 GMT

Just saw the ipl bidding and was shocked to see there were no takers for Afridi, Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir and Umer Akmal ..... Really ashamed on this, I wonder how will I respond to the queries when my colleagues in the office from Pakistan will ask me about it? can I say they are not good enough?!?! no I cant because they are the world champions .... really shameful business.

POSTED BY
Go_F.Alonso
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

I know there's "Policy" and everything but shouldn't the bidding amount (in the silent tie-breaker) be made available to the losing bidders at least. I'm gutted that Bond didn't go to Deccan.

POSTED BY
JayPmorgan
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

"The franchises had the option to pick any player. If you look, they [Pakistan players] were not the only ones not picked," Lalit Modi said. "There were other players, too, who were not picked in the auction."
So Mr Modi is implying that the Pakistan players were not picked due to their abilities rather than other factors ? Come off it, These players are some of the most talented 20-20 exponents in the world such as Umar Gul. Fair enough the players weren't picked by the IPL franchises, it is their money, but to say it was due to ability is not acceptable. Be man enough to state the real reasons.

POSTED BY
youfoundme
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

I laughed when I saw Bonds base price. It would be interesting to see who was the highest paid for out of him and Pollard...

POSTED BY
Aayush.Agarwal
on | January 19, 2010, 11:20 GMT

As a KKR fan.. I am happy that we have Shane Bond... hope we wont finish last this year.. Also we have a change of jersey coming up.. It wont be black anymore...

No featured comments at the moment.

POSTED BY
Aayush.Agarwal
on | January 19, 2010, 11:20 GMT

As a KKR fan.. I am happy that we have Shane Bond... hope we wont finish last this year.. Also we have a change of jersey coming up.. It wont be black anymore...

POSTED BY
youfoundme
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

I laughed when I saw Bonds base price. It would be interesting to see who was the highest paid for out of him and Pollard...

POSTED BY
JayPmorgan
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

"The franchises had the option to pick any player. If you look, they [Pakistan players] were not the only ones not picked," Lalit Modi said. "There were other players, too, who were not picked in the auction."
So Mr Modi is implying that the Pakistan players were not picked due to their abilities rather than other factors ? Come off it, These players are some of the most talented 20-20 exponents in the world such as Umar Gul. Fair enough the players weren't picked by the IPL franchises, it is their money, but to say it was due to ability is not acceptable. Be man enough to state the real reasons.

POSTED BY
Go_F.Alonso
on | January 19, 2010, 11:21 GMT

I know there's "Policy" and everything but shouldn't the bidding amount (in the silent tie-breaker) be made available to the losing bidders at least. I'm gutted that Bond didn't go to Deccan.

POSTED BY
Roamer
on | January 19, 2010, 11:37 GMT

Just saw the ipl bidding and was shocked to see there were no takers for Afridi, Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir and Umer Akmal ..... Really ashamed on this, I wonder how will I respond to the queries when my colleagues in the office from Pakistan will ask me about it? can I say they are not good enough?!?! no I cant because they are the world champions .... really shameful business.

POSTED BY
Ali.Aftabb
on | January 19, 2010, 11:39 GMT

Its hard to believe that Roach with one good spell in test cricket can beat Umar Gul, who is arguably has the best T20 bowling record over the period of time. "Rajisthan Royals not being loyal" to their purple cap Sohail Tanvir, who played a big hand in their win in the first season.

This auction is a big blow to the peace process between the two countries, Yes! its only cricket but cricket is more than sports in this part of the world. Sadly such incidents create hatred which is totally uncalled for in the present situation

POSTED BY
chinaman75
on | January 19, 2010, 11:40 GMT

Bond will be a great buy for Kolkata. Even though he has retired from test cricket his last game against Pakistan was brilliant and showed us he still has his pace and quile with the ball.
Expect plenty of stumps to fly and the odd six down the bottom of the order. Great job Kolkata.

POSTED BY
Thrill_of_Copsterhill_218
on | January 19, 2010, 11:41 GMT

I think the Pakistanis were only included to show the IPL was inclusive and bipartisan the truth its all political and they never stood a chance of being picked. This is purely a political decision to isolate Pakistan and Pakistani cricket. The Pakistani players should focus their energy on winning the T20 world cup in a few months time and show modi and his cronies who is the best (albeit in this format). They should also boycott any future IPL editions.

Pleased for Roach, Pollard and Parnell but it would have been good to see Umar and Aamer there too.

POSTED BY
Lovetesh
on | January 19, 2010, 11:42 GMT

Most sensible ipl auction till date. Felt for pakistan players, but when serious money is involved business men/women will look for assurance.

POSTED BY
Deb_Rockstars
on | January 19, 2010, 11:42 GMT

The Guy getting the minimum bid gets $50K or INR 23,00,000+ for 6 week effort. Thats the minimum. How many Indians earn that in entire year ? probably..no..surely less than 5% of the population ? And yet everyone is so gung-ho about IPL auction....Just realize this is merely toys for the big boys...the Mallyas & Ambanis...loose change emptied from their fat purses for passing indulgence.